Door handle



RUF/71W Vaciar Ji. Smmj,

V. R. SHINKEZ Doon HANDLE Filed septQlzs. 1924 July 5 1927.

:yV/1111111111.' Q

Patented July 5, 1927.

NlTED STATES 1,634,342 PATENT OFFICE.

VICTOR R. SHINKEZ, OF CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN, .ASSIGNOR TO HANCOCK -MANUFAC TUBING- CO., OF CHARLOTTE, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

DOOR HANDLE.

Application led September 13, 1924. Serial No. 737,470.

The invention pertains to door handles and more especially to handles for automobile doors and the like.

The object of the invention generally stated is to produce a door handle capable of being manufactured at a relatively low cost and possessing the further advantage that it is strong and durable and presents a neatand ornamental appearance.

In attaining this object the handle is constructed almost entirely from metal in sheetl form pressed'and drawn to form the several parts, A prominent feature is the formation of the main or body portion of the handle n; from two inter'engaging stri s enclosed by a drawn sheet met-al shell W ichl is open at. its forward side leaving the rear face of the body portion free from joints, seams and rough edges, so as to present a smooth and ao unbroken 'gripping surface pleasing to the touch. Another vfeature is the use of a, panel member 21 closing the forward open side of the shell and made ofa rubber composition or other exible or yielding materiall which as lends itself to easy and effective ornamentation,l presenting a pleasing contrast to the metal of the shell or body; Awhich is not subject to easy scratching or marring as is the casevwith the commonly used enamel;` and a@ which is capable of being renewedas by buinng. Still another feature is the use of a drawn sheet metal stem or shank for the handle shaped to provide a spherical bearing surface adapted toengagea similar surface on the escutcheon plate.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, it being contemplated that various changes in the construction and arrangement illustrated andA hereinafter set forth may be Varied by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

Figure 1 Ais a fragmentary vertical sec tional view through my improved handle. l

Fig. 2 is a face view of the same.'

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken approximately in the plane of line 3-3 of 5o Fig. 1.

Fig-4 is a fragmentary sectionalview on an enlarged scale taken approximately in the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Flg. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view through the handle and illustrating one way enerally a. main or body portion 8 and a tu ular stem 9. 10

designates a squared latch-operating shank or spindle disposed axially of the stem 9 and anchored in the body portion 8. 11 is the door of an automobile or the like to which thee handle is applied, an escutcheon plate 12 being secured to the outer face of the door and providing a bearingfor the inner end of the stem 9. l

The body portion 8 of the handle comprises a shell formed from an elongated strip of sheet metal bent upwardly or outwardl at its edges to'formend walls 13, side wal s 14 and a bottom or rear wall 15. Obviously the shape of the shell may readily be varied at will. Herein the sides are shown as slightly curved and tapering toward opposite ends, and the ends are shown sli htly rounded.

For the purpose of len ing strength and rlgidity to the body portion 8 of the handle I' provide a pair of plates 16 and 17 elonglated in form and otherwise made of such imensions as to .fit snu ly within the side and end walls of the shell. These plates are made to conform respectivel to the shape of the rear and frontA faces o the body portion of the handle. Thus the plate 16 is made a proximately straight `from end to. end but 1s curved from side to side to resent a convex rear face corresponding tot e rear face of the handle. The plate 17 on the other hand is not only curved from side to side as is the plate 16 but is also curved from end tov end as the body portion decreases in thickness toward its ends. As a result of this shaping .of the two plates, when they are placed together in the shell their opposite 100 ends are in contact, and between thelr' ends the plates occupy a spaced relation. To lock them against relative endwise movement I preferably form annular interen aging or telescoping bosses 18 and 19 o n t e respec- 105 tive Vplates approximately centrally thereof as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 3.

To impart to the outer or forward face of the bod portion 8 an ornamental appearance I provi e a face plate such as a strip of hard U0 rubber orother suitable material a proximately corresponding in size to the p ate 17. This face plate or panel stri 21 is also enclosedv within the end and si e walls of the shell, being placed directly over the plate 17. To hold it in position and at the same time hold the plates 16 and 17 in the shell, the outer edges of the end and side walls are turned inwardly to form a peripheral re- .taining tlange 20.

The panel strip 21 is preferably made of substantial thickness and if desired may itself becovered b a metallic strip constituting a mat 22 wit an opening 23 inter osed between the peripheral flange20 an the panel strip as shown in Figs. 5 to 7. This mat may embody any suitable desi n, that herein-shown being in the forni o a diamond shaped opening 22, substantially midway between t e opposite ends of the-mat, which serves to expose the contrasting color of the panel strip 21.

The stem 9 of the handle' is formed from a piece of metal drawn into a tubular form and mounted at its forward end upon a rear- Wardly extending boss 24 formed integral with a nipple 25 pressed from the' rear wall 15 ofthe shell.. The stern may be rigidly secured to the boss 24C in any suitable way.

The latch-operating shank or spindle 10 extends axially through the stem 9 and is anchored as by riveting (Fig. 4) to the rear reenforcing plate 16. 1t will be noted that the two plates, being rigidly secured. together, form in eHect an anchoring bar for the shank, which extends into the door 11 in the usual way for operating the latch (not shown). j

lnterposed between the Astein 9 and the door isthe escutcheon plate 12, which in the present instance is also formed of sheet metal shaped to provide a spherical bearing surface 26 with which the rear end of the stem 9 isv adapted tocoact. To this end the stem is flared outwardly near its rear end andthen inwardly to form a ball member 27 the rear surface of which bears on the bearing surface 26 of the escutcheon plate. The latter is secured to. the. door 1n the usual way as by screws 28.

Within the escutcheon plate I provide a s ring plate bearing against the escutcheon p ate and a spring washer 30 interposed be tween the plate 29 and an ordinary washer 31 held against rearward movement on the shank 10 by struck-up portions 32. The arrangement is such that the plate 29 and washer 30 coact to hold the ball member 27 in contact with the spherical bearing surface 26, and the escutcheon plate is made of substantial depth so as to enclose the parts 29, 30 and 31. Obviously any other means may be lemployed to hold the handle in proper relation to the door.

It will be observed that my handle is constructed almost entirely of sheet metal so that it ma be formed by press work, a very economica method of construction; but the construction and arrangement of the parts is such that notwithstanding the sheet metal construction the handle presents a neat and ornamental appearance and is also 'strong and durable. By employing an outer shell in the manner set forth, the body portion and the rear face of the handle is left smooth and unbroken by seams, joints and other protruding edges, so that this portionA of the-handle which is subjected to the grip of the fingers of the operator is pleasing to the touch. On the other hand the forward face of the handle, by reason of the shell construction employed and the panel strip therein, lends itself readily to easy and effective ornamentation. The peripheral retaining flange 20 on the lface of the handle may be of any desired width and this flange forms a bordering edge'portion for the contrastingly colored material of the panel strip. Moreover the construction lends itself readily to the use of a metallic mat to produce any desired design, further utilizing the contrasting color of the panel strip for decorative purposes. By making the panel strip of hard rubber or other yieldable material, it is not subject to easy scratching or marring as is the case with enamel customarily employed for decorative purposes, and being made of substantial thickness the strip may be rebuffed from-time to time for the purpose of removing any blemishes due to wear.

I claim as my invention:

1. A door -handle having, in combination with a spindle, a bar rigidly secured to the end of the spindle, a face plate for said bar, and a shell formed from a single sheet of Imetal and. providing a. rear wall with an aperture therein to receive said spindle, the edge ortion of said shell beingbentaround said ace plate to form a flange, the edges of which overlie said face plate and vserve to clamp the face plate in position.

2. A doorA handle having, in combination with a spindle, a bar rigidly secured on the end of the spindle, a face plate for said bar, a' shell formed of a single sheet of metal and providing a rear wall having an opening therein to receive said spindle, and a curved iange formed from the edge portion of said shell and bent around said bar and said face plate thereby clamping them together, with said bar lying against said rear wall.

* 3. A door handle havin in combination with a spindle,` a bar rigidly secured to the end of said spindle, a face plate for said bar, a shell formed from a sin le sheet of metal and comprising a rear wa l, a tubular boss projecting rearwardly from said wall and defining an aperture receivinvr said spindle, and a liange overlying the ediges yof said face plate and cooperating 4with said 13 closed rear face and open at its forward side,-

a reenforcin plate having thereon a rearwardly projecting tabular boss enclosed within the shell and disposed forwardly therein, and a second plate includin a forwardly projecting tubular boss isposed rearwardly in the shell in Contact with the rear Wallithereof, said rearwardly projecting boss `on said reenforcing plate and said forwardly projecting -boss on said second plate being interengaged to prevent relative endwise movement therebetween.

5. A door handle having' a body portion,

a stem projecting rearwardly from the body portion, a shank rigid with the body portion and extending through said stem, an escutcheon plate adapted to be secured to the door, a Washer lixed against movement Ion vsaid shank, a spring plate encircling said shank and bearing against the escutcheon.l y

plate, and a spring washer interposed between said plate and said fixed washer, said escutcheon plate being formed of sheet metal and having substantial depth so .as to enNr close said spring plate and washers, the escutcheon late further bein K shaped to provide a spliiericaI bearing sur ace and said stem being shapedto provide a corresponding bearing to engage said surface.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature.

VICTOR R... SHINKEZ. 

